This morning before going to work, I caught a few moments of Good Morning America.  One of the segments featured a pair of monkeys employed as waiters at a tavern in Japan called Kayabukiya.  I’m not entirely sure what all goes on in the tavern except that the pair passes out hot towels to the customers as they order their first drink.  No word on their rate of pay but they are tipped generously in boiled soya-beans.  According to the report on GMA, many people have complimented the simians and noted that they are better than some human servers they have had previously.  The names of the pair are Fuku-chan  and Yat-chan. But check out the link to see the monkeys in action.  I wonder if the owners of Kayabukiya are breaking any animal labor laws… cruelty to animals and such.   Not sure if PETA operates worldwide.

This weekend saw another tour of the area haunted fare.  Since our haunted theatre was nixed by the local bureaucrats (something about the theatre not being coded correctly… whatever), it has been great to visit the attractions within reasonable drives.  However, this weekend’s extravaganza was a little weak.  Let’s just say that I think that the fearless four-year-old who was part of our group just might have enjoyed going through it.  Terror Town at the Lucas County Fairgrounds is a four attraction for one price haunt.  In the first building, the thrillseeker is treated to a display of freaky peraphernalia  throughout history (Sasquatch, the KFC trio, the lampshade from Ed Gein’s house of horror, and other oddities).  The next was a slaughterhouse in which our group traveled with the use of a flashlight.  The problem being, the light was controlled by an unseen force.  The third was entitled The Beast which was a tunnel of fun.  fINally, came the House of Horror.  Let’s just say the smell was the scariest part of the whole attraction.

My biggest problem with the site was the ratio of animatronic devices to live actors.  You can only stand and watch a mechanical prop jump out at you before it becomes not only UNscary but lame.  the actors (no more than 5 in the 4 buildings) just did not have their heart in it.  There soul purpose seemed to be to direct the traffic created by the audiences.  WAY too many “pop-up” scares and WAY too few human actors feeling their parts created very few chills and spills.  So few in fact, that the three of us who usually are psyched and ready for more were hesitant to venture 10 miles to another attraction. Also, the miniature golf course was not yet complete. The let down of the terribly un-terrifying Terror Town led the group to return to watch the Cubs game which was also a let down.  But the Buckeyes won and are now 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten…. GO BUCKS!!!

Tonight, a friend and I went to see the new Shia LaBeouf movie (which was executive produced by Steven Spielberg) entitled Eagle Eye.  The plot was as implausible as you can imagine but it was fast-paced and entertaining… so it was really easy to suspend our disbelief.  Shia plays Jerry Shaw, a rather lifeless character who seems to wander the world looking for himself, having jobs in far away places and eventually landing a position at the local Copy Cabana.  He returns home for his brother’s funeral and is soon entered into a life and death struggle with Rachel, a woman he has never met before (played by Michelle Monaghan).  It seems that they have been “activated” by an unseen woman who communicates with them via cell phone and other rather creepy electronic devices.  In short, she can see and hear everything they do.  It is impossible for the pair to simply run away because the woman on the other end of the cell phone will retaliate by bringing harm to their loved ones.

During the two hour movie there were enough action-packed escapes, twists, and turns to keep the audience (Megan, another couple who left early to “get busy” (it could not be that the movie was not entertaining), and myself) glued to the screen.  Each assignment the voice puts Jerry and Rachel through leads them to the shocking endgame involving the highest levels of government.  And what action extravaganza is complete without the resident agent hot on the trail of the reluctant heroes.  This time, he is played by Billy Bob Thornton.

So, although the situation presented in the movie is totally absurd, the action was enough to entertain and go along for the ride… even with the strange noises my car was making while I was driving… something I need to look into.

While listening to the radio this morning and the poll question of the day, I was reminded of my post a few days ago. The question: “Who do you prefer… Billy Joel or Bruce Springsteen?” Myself, I much prefer the Piano Man to the Boss. Joel’s music is so much more melodic and he has crossed over into other genres with his own music. Although it is one of those “jukebox musicals” with little to no plot, Movin’ Out was nominated for a handful of 2003 Tony Awards and won two (one for Mr. Joel’s orchestrations). In 2001, the accomplished musician composed an album of classical piano pieces entitled Fantasies & Delusions. In the end, Springsteen defeated Joel by ONE phone call.

The intriguing thing about all this is that the two performers will be sharing the stage (I’m not sure if it’s for the first time but have seen no evidence to the contrary). However, the ticket will be quite costly. On October 16th, the two will show their support for Barack Obama for his “last event in the Tri-State area before the election.” The concert will be held in the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Tickets for the event start at only $500 for balcony seats. Starting at $2500, you can enjoy “premiere seating”. Or for the paltry sum of $10,000 you can enjoy “lounge seating.” Peanuts, right? Thanks, but I’ll stick to the recordings. Perhaps our friend from Liswathistan will be able to make an appearance.

During halftime festivities of the Bears-Eagles game (Da Bears up 21-14), the announcement of the halftime performer for Super Bowl XLIII was announced. Live from Tampa Bay on 2-1-09, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be rocking the house. My personal favorite performance of the past few years was Paul McCartney during Super Bowl XXXIX. There were no wardrobe malfunctions. However, there were totally distinguishable words, good songs, the whole package. OOOPS… interception by the Bears… ok, commercial. I’m not sure how memorable the Boss’ performance will be. He has not had a hit song in quite a few years and his career has not been as distinguished as Sir Paul’s. Perhaps, the producers are still being overly cautious about whom they choose to entertain. And the Eagles pick off a pass in the end zone… oops (have to be fair). Of course, I am old enough to remember Springsteen in his hey day with Born in the USA. So, we will see if Bruce is still Born to Run on February 1.

UPDATE; BEARS 24, EAGLES 20 FINAL

This weekend, I attended two masses. Saturday night was my scheduled service to lead the congregation in song. Went really well especially the closing song, “Let there be Peace on Earth.” I don’t know what it was but I felt a strange tingling and actually gave into the sensation and closed my eyes. Normally, I would consider this a HUGE faux pas IF others could see my face. Since the loft is behind the congregation, my momentary lapse was not that great of a deal. Maybe I had an angel on my shoulder.

The choir sang at mass this morning. Since this was unscheduled, I was informed that there was not going to be many members singing this morning so I said if I was up in time to be at 8.30am mass, I would be there. The group was actually singing a song that it had never done before but has always been a personal favorite, “Preciousl Lord, Take My Hand.” So, doesn’t happen regularly but I made the effort and went to church twice in one weekend. Happens occasionally especially when Christmas falls on an unusual day of the week (I have actually attended mass twice in one day). But it is good for me and if I didn’t want to I would not have. My mother attended mass every day when she attended Catholic school. The fact that my siblings and I never attended the same school has always puzzled me. Perhaps our proximity to the public school (right out our front door) had something to do with it.

I did get to catch a nap before I had to return to church for our chicken festival complete with bingo and dish washing (hooray). I won $1.50 after only 2 games (of bingo, not dish washing) at a quarter a pop. This was after only a few rounds had been called. Later, I heard the caller announcing $8.50 or $9.00 to the winner. My 12 year-old nephew was playing beside me. For his final game, Joshua laid down a dollar bill and played 4 cards at one time (not that it did him any good). Is bingo a huge Catholic thing nationwide or just around these parts? I remember that years ago, bingo was played on Monday nights in the church basement. No creamed chicken sandwiches for me… although they sold them at the concession stand under the bingo tent.

Let There Be Peace On Earth (Let It Begin With Me) By Jill Jackson, Sy Miller, arranged by John Brimhall. Single for voice, piano and guitar chords. C Major. 5 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing. (AP.5-BMP651) See more info…

Thursdays are the busy work days at the store.  This is the day on which we get our weekly truck of grocery, frozen, meat, and dairy.  Unlike my former place of employment at which they get multiple trucks every day.  Anyway, last Thursday was an experience.  While the truck driver was trying to move his power electrical jack, he encountered a problem: it would not work.  THAT’S A PROBLEM!

As we were waiting, our manager came along and asked what the problem was.  In my infinite wisdom, I said… “He died.”  To which she replied, “Well, that is not the first time I’ve lost someone on my shift.”

Apparently while she was working at one of our sister stores, an older gentleman had been waiting in his car a little too long.  The man’s grandson entered the store and asked if they ever checked the parking lot.  In the car, the old man had died.  I’m not sure if he was waiting for his wife to shop or why he was sitting in the car.  I’m not one to check the parking lot unless it is for loose carts at the end of the day or to help customers out with their purchases.  I guess the poor guy had been in the car for like three hours before he was found.  There was at least one other unfortunate demise at the store; however, it did not happen on Di’s shift.

The closest thing I can recall happening in my years is a young lady who decided to rush her way through cleaning the meat grinder.  Once again, this did not happen during my shift.  But I can tell you that it occurred in December a few years back.  I was on my way home from holiday shopping and saw the ambulance at the store.  Still a topic of conversation once in a while.  Or going down into the basement.  NOW THAT WOULD MAKE A GREAT ADDITION TO A HAUNTED HOUSE!!!  Just wear your boots.

Once again, a group of close friends gathered together tonight to venture to another haunt. This time it was the Leader Family Farm outside Napoleon. Earlier, we traveled to Sandusky’s Ghostly Manor (which is nationally recognized and year-long). The Leader Farm is locally owned and run seasonally. In fact, this was the opening weekend for the attraction. Although many of the workers commented that they were not at 100% (a few bugs to work out), this was sooooo much more entertaining. The area was actually more of a complex, there was a play area for the smaller children; a LARGE corn maze to walk through, and ScreamAcres Haunted Corn Field. C, justj, and I were the only three who dared to take on the ghouls.

What I enjoyed most about the experience was that most of the frights were done by actual people, not too many big scary, animated devices to jump out and startle. Some of my favorite scenes were a tunnel room which was immediately followed by another equally disorienting room (to two of us, anyway). There were plenty of other nifty frights throughout and it lasted over a half-hour as opposed to the 15 minutes spent in Ghostly Manor.

The three of us went through the gallery of terror three times. Once again, it was really fun to see the actors attempt to do different things as we made our way through each time. Especially during our final crusade, when two of us became slap happy with either fatigue, euphoria, or something that was placed in the tall stalks of corn. Before we left the complex, we were given four passes to visit again later in the season when they had more people visiting and they became more accustomed to the atmosphere. I hope to once again visit before the season ends if it only gets better.

I think it would be fun to go through the corn maze. Our other companions attempted to do just that but did not seem that they enjoyed themselves quite as much as the three of us self-appointed “professional haunted house aficionados.” If there is such a job, SIGN ME UP!!! Or just get me into one as an actor. That would be so cool. Aren’t friends the greatest?

I received an email today and thought it was one in an endless stream of useless waste of time pieces of junk. Even reading it I was hesitant, but after following the link and following the instructions, I found it to be very accurate although I do have to question one of the qualities it listed:

• “Fruity and adventurous” the adventurous DEFINITELY; however, fruity? I don’t think so.

Which brings me to the big topic of the day. Who cares who sleeps with whom? I think there are much more important issues in the world than the fact that Clay Aiken came out of the closet. I was TRYING to watch the new Knight Rider (which is one of the best NEW offerings this season… which usually means it will be gone within a month) last night and I swear I heard the news at least 5 times in one hour. Live and let live.

Ok… back to the topic at hand. Follow the link, follow the directions and see if you find yourself:

Http://DNA.imagini.net/friends

It has been just over a week since Emily’s memorial service; however, I had to include one of the most emotional moments. A soloist sang a song that I knew that I had to know but at the time could not remember from where. It was THAT powerful. While listening to my library of songs on my itunes shuffle, the song For Good from the musical Wicked played. AHAHA. Just hearing the words to the beautiful song took me back not only to the service but through many of my most cherished moments with Emily. Amazing the power of the gift that she helped me cultivate for so many years.

I’ve heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true
But I know I’m who I am today
Because I knew you…

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You’ll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend…

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
Because I knew you
I have been changed for good

And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I’ve done you blame me for
But then, I guess we know
There’s blame to share
And none of it seems to matter anymore

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood
Who can say if I’ve been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better

And because I knew you…
Because I knew you…
Because I knew you…
I have been changed for good…

Everyone has at one time turned to someone be it a parent, sibling, friend, teacher, or even a complete stranger and been changed profoundly in some way. Thank you for being that someone to not only myself but to all those whose lives you touched, For Good.

Wicked (Piano/Vocal Selections) (A New Musical) By Stephen Schwartz. Songbook for voice, piano and guitar chords. This edition is in standard piano/vocal format with the melody in the piano part. 120 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.313267) See more info…